Today involved a lot of solo riding, but it was actually pretty enjoyable. We started out trying to ride as a group, but the terrain made it difficult. The morning was a lot of up and down with very few flat sections so it was difficult to stay together and regrouping at the top of the climbs didn't make a lot of sense. So I decided to just ride my ride and do what I needed to do to get through the climbing. Also, the wind was pretty favorable so riding alone wasn't too difficult.
After lunch there were some flatish sections as we rode along the Allegheny river so I rode with two other people for about 12 miles. After passing the Kinzua dam the route started to head up through the Allegheny National Forest and out of the Allegheny River Valley. This involved a long, slow climb, which was actually more enjoyable than the steep (double digit) climbs from the morning. I rode the climb on my own, but caught up with another rider at the top so we finished off the ride together.
Overall, it was a good day with lots of beautiful scenery. Tomorrow is another big day before our last rest day of the trip.
Day 38 stats:
distance: 100.8 miles
elevation gain: 6201 ft (a decent amount more than the route profile indicated)
nutrition:
breakfast: cheese omelette, muffin, yogurt, NuGo protein bar
lunch: grilled cheese, berries, 1 small coke
post-ride: 1 recovery drink, 1 small coke, small bag of cheetos, Skratch crispy rice cake, 1 orange, Split cashew butter and sour cherry jelly,1 La Croix
gels: 2
bloks: 1
78 oz skratch superfuel
Day 39 details - Bradford to Corning, NY
planned distance: 101 miles
planned elevation gain: 4634 ft